Department for Education

English Language: Education

Lord Gilbert of Panteg: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byBaroness Berridge on 2 June (HL434), and on 20 July (HL1599), whether they still intend topublish "a new national strategy for English language in England", as set out in theIntegrated Communities Action Plan, published on 9 February 2019; what role theMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will have in the formulation of this strategy; and what steps they are taking to ensure a cross-government approach to the development of the strategy.

Baroness Berridge: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 20 July 2021 to Question HL1599.We remain committed to English language, as demonstrated by the manifesto commitment to boost English language teaching. However, our response to the COVID-19 outbreak is our priority at present. We will provide an update on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in due course.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government continues to work closely with the Department for Education and other government departments on the provision of ESOL.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they plan to take followingreports that some private care providersare charging local authorities up to £10,000 a week to look after one child in care.

Baroness Berridge: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there are sufficient places to meet the needs of looked after children in their area, including commissioning places from private or voluntary sector providers as required. They are responsible for agreeing prices with providers accordingly.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a market study that will examine the lack of availability and increasing costs in children’s social care provision. The CMA is examining concerns around high prices paid by local authorities, specifically prices charged by providers and variation between prices paid for similar types of placements.The government has also committed to undertaking a widescale review of children’s social care, taking a fundamental look at the needs, experiences and outcomes of the children it supports, and what is needed to make a real difference. The review will be bold, broad, and independently led, taking a fundamental look across children’s social care, with the aim of better supporting, protecting, and improving the outcomes of vulnerable children and young people. The review will be evidenced based and bring together a broad range of expertise.The government will study the findings and recommendations of both reviews carefully when they report next year.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Local Plans

Baroness Thornhill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many local plans have been approved without providing evidence that they will meet their housing targets.

Lord Greenhalgh: As part of the plan-making process, local land constraints such as the green belt, sites of special scientific interest and national parks are considered in determining housing targets. All local plans are then subject to an independent examination to determine whether the plan is sound, legally compliant and aligns with national policy. As part of the examination the Inspector will determine whether the plan sets out an appropriate strategy for the area, based on proportionate evidence and whether the strategy is deliverable.

Housing: Construction

Baroness Thornhill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of the housing targets allocated to each council area; whether there is an expectation, as evidenced by the Housing Delivery Test, that they will be (1) met or (2) exceeded; and on what grounds targets could be negotiated downwards.

Lord Greenhalgh: A crucial first step in making sure the country has the right amount of homes, is to plan for them. The National Planning Policy Framework expects local authorities to calculate local housing need using the standard method. However, our standard method is only the starting point in the process of planning for new homes. It is not a target. Local authorities will still need to consider the constraints they face locally to assess how many homes can be delivered in their area in setting their own housing targets when preparing their local plans.The Housing Delivery Test exists to offer greater transparency on housing delivery in an area and encourages local authorities to be realistic about likely rates of delivery from sites in plans. Where delivery falls, policy consequences are applied to ensure more land is brought forward. The latest results show that the majority of those delivering 75% or less of the housing they need had a plan over 5 years old at the time of publication – this underlines the importance of having an up to date plan and proactively supporting development in a plan-led way.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ashraf Ghani

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have on the whereabouts of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani; and whether they have had any contact with him since he fled Afghanistan on 15 August.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Media reporting indicates Ashraf Ghani was in the UAE following his departure from Kabul on 15 August.

Afghanistan: Taliban

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of (1) Russia, and (2) China, in regard to the current situation in Afghanistan and at what ministerial and diplomatic level; and when the Prime Minister last spoke to US President Biden in regard to the current situation in Afghanistan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Prime Minister spoke to US President Biden on 23 August and at the G7 on 24 August. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 18 August. We are in regular contact at an official level with the Russian government through our Ambassador and her team at the British Embassy in Moscow. This is also the case through our missions in New York, where we convened a meeting of P5 representatives on 23 August. We are planning further Ministerial engagement in the coming days.

Afghanistan: Taliban

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the future of Afghanistan under Taliban control; and whether they intend to recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The policy of the British Government is to recognise States, not Governments. As the Prime Minister has said, we will judge the Taliban by their actions not their words and respond accordingly. We will take a coordinated approach with our partners as the Prime Minister announced at the G7 Leaders meeting on 24 August.